Knockout
by braidonfire
Summary: When someone outside of the 'ring of fire' gets killed, what will Beckett and the team do?  Set during and after 3x24. Read/Review? :


_Okaay. So. Obviously not my title. I was genuinely surprised at the lack of Knockdown fics I saw pop up after these amazing spoilers that have been popping up laft and right - where did everybody go? :P_

_Um. When you read this...don't kill me. But I don't know. I just have a feeling that this might be it..._

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><p>As fresh, warm sunlight streamed through the window, Castle slowly opened his eyes and reached out to touch the body lying next to him. His hand grasped cold, wrinkled sheets and a thrown-back blanket.<p>

Confused, he sat up, rubbing his eyes. The sudden brightness of the morning blinded him for a moment. Then he smiled, remembering the last night.

Kate was amazing. No matter how many times he'd fantasized about her, dreamed of the night they'd finally get together, that had been a million times better. She was sweet and fiery, and she knew exactly how to please people. Full-out grinning, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, and then he saw her.

She was curled up on the windowsill of her apartment, her pillow held to her chest and her phone clenched in her hand. There were tears running down her face, illuminated by the early morning, and quiet sobs wracked her body.

Immediately worried, Rick rushed over to her, crouching down by her side. She looked like she'd been up for hours, with the dark, puffy circles under her eyes and the tired expression on her face. She looked like she couldn't breathe. She couldn't even look him in the eyes.

He stroked her hair gently, brushing the stray strands away from her face, and wiped away her tears with his thumb. He didn't know what to say; he didn't know what was going on. Silently, he snaked his arms under her knees and lifted her, walking over to the bed and lying down with her.

"Kate…what happened?" He traced patterns on her arm, trying to calm her down. Eventually, after about three minutes of silence, she spoke. Her voice came out shaky, still torn apart by sobs and grief.

"It's Lanie."

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><p>As Kate took a quick shower, trying to clear her head, Castle sat on her bed and let thinking take over.<p>

Lanie. Of all the people he would have thought would get shot, she had to have been very near the bottom of the list. She was smart, beautiful, and talented…or at least, she had been. He sighed, his head drooping into his hands.

Anyone affiliated with the police was in a dangerous line of fire. Everyone knew that. But an ME, someone with such a harmless legal job, was the last person you'd expect to get hurt. They spent most of their time in their morgue, with the bodies and victims. The fact that no cop had gotten hurt, and she had, was just so unfair.

Shot in a crossfire. That's what Kate had told him. She'd been at her newest crime scene in Central Park, about to call Esposito, when someone had tried to shoot at the already-present detectives but had shot her instead. One bullet, straight through her stomach. She'd been killed almost instantly.

It just wasn't fair. Detectives signed up for being in danger; Medical Examiners didn't. Lanie had never known she would get hurt. She hadn't woken up that morning thinking that she might be in danger. It had just been a complete surprise.

Kate hadn't calmed down at all, only able to choke a few words out before the tears overcame her again. He could only imagine what she was going through; she was losing someone else she loved, and it was killing her. He could see it in her eyes.

Slowly, he sank back into the pillows and tried to get a little more sleep. Knowing Kate, she'd take a while in the shower, and if he was going to be any help to her and everyone else, he needed a little more rest than he had now.

The water was scalding hot, running over her body like fire. It didn't matter, however, because she just needed to be distracted from the other pain that was trying to consume her mind.

It just wasn't right; it just wasn't fair. It didn't make sense. Kate couldn't wrap her head around anything. She felt like she was a teenager again, and she'd just gotten the worst news of her life. She had that feeling of numbness washed over her, mixed with the excruciating pain underneath it all. Taking a deep breath in a feeble attempt to calm her over-worked nerves, she rested her head on the wall of the shower and turned the water off.

Screw it. Screw it all. The only way she was going to feel any calmer was if she stayed with people who loved her, and if she was able to see what really happened. In that moment, nothing mattered more to her than catching the son of a bitch that had done this to her friend.

Slipping on a silk robe, she stepped out of the bathroom, locating Rick. He was propped up against the headboard, his mouth hanging a little bit slack and his hair mussed up from sleep. The sight before her was adorable, but it didn't make her smile. Nothing could.

She quickly changed into yoga pants and an NYPD hoodie, not caring what anyone thought of her. Not today. She wasn't going to make an effort to look as good as she normally did, because she knew no one would care. Tying her hair up into a messy bun, she shook Castle awake.

He was alert immediately, his eyes softening when he saw her. Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying, but she looked better. He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"I wish I could console you," he said quietly, "but I can't. Lord knows I have no idea what this must feel like for you. Your best friend killed in connection to your mother's case…I've just never felt that before. I'm not going to tell you that it's okay, or that you'll get through it, because it isn't okay and you won't not right now. But Kate, I'm here…and I always will be, okay?"

She was still for a moment before turning on her side to face him. She sniffled and raised her head to look into his eyes. "Thanks," she whispered, her voice escaping her. "Can we go?"

He nodded, releasing her. She stood up, fixing her sweater and grabbing her phone off the table. Opening the door, she started to descend the stairs, Castle following suit.

"Wait." She turned around, and he almost crashed right into her. "When we get there, don't tell them."

"About?"

"Us. It's not the right time, and they'll figure it out anyway."

The seriousness in her eyes made him take a step back, but he complied. "I get it," he said timidly. "I won't say a word."

She nodded and started out the front door, locking it behind them. When they stepped inside the elevator, he took her hand and held it.

He only let go so that she could drive to the now double crime scene. When they parked her car, she stood up, and he took it again. It seemed like the only thing he could do to help her, and he needed the comfort as much as she did. Lanie was his friend too.

They reached the pavement and quickly located Esposito and Ryan at a nearby ambulance. Ryan was on the phone next to his partner, probably talking to the captain or someone else. Esposito had his head in his hands, quietly sobbing and trying to hide it.

Rick squeezed his partner's hand, offering any assurance he could. She took a deep breath, nodded and started towards the scene before her.

He stayed back and watched as she manoeuvred through the crowd of officials, paramedics and detectives. The space was loud, but it was heavy and there was a sense of respect hanging in the air. He sighed as he leaned back against a nearby tree, watching Kate.

She walked over to her partners, the men that had been with her through so much. Whenever she'd needed them, they'd been there. Whenever she'd been weak, they'd made her strong again. And even though she had another partner now, another person that had a very strong and influential role in her life, they still mattered just as much to her. They were still family.

Their heads raised in unison as they acknowledged her. She didn't say any words; just sat down next to Esposito and let a hand come to rest on his back. He turned his head towards her, acknowledging her presence. Castle saw her mouth move, then saw the other detective shake his head and then let it rest on his hand again. She bent her knees and held them to her chest, resting her head on his shoulder. And there they remained, the picture of friendship and pain.

It made him tear up. To see someone so broken, so fragile…and then when he saw the stretcher being loaded into another ambulance across the concrete, he snapped, and so did Kate.

The tears came from her first. He could see her, ten feet away, breaking down again. Esposito couldn't look up, but his hands balled into fists. Beckett turned her head, her face touching her partner's shoulder as she let go and sobbed.

Castle rushed over, sitting down on her other side. She looked broken as she switched sides, crying into his shirt now. It was all he could do to wrap his arms around her again as she sobbed, kissing her hair and rubbing the small of her back in tiny circles.

Nobody was even looking at them. On a normal day, people would have stared at them. On any other day but this, there would have been quips and jabs at their relationship.

But today was about Lanie. Today was about the wonderful woman who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Today was about the sick son of a bitch that did this, and how they were going to make his sorry ass fry in prison.

A paramedic calmly walked over to the quartet of friends standing and sitting on the edge of the vehicle. She placed a hand on Beckett's shoulder and looked into her eyes.

"Detective Kate Beckett?"

Kate lifted her head off of Rick's shoulder and sniffled, rubbing her eyes. "Yes?"

"We need to ask you a few questions about the victim. Could you come with us?"

She nodded, standing shakily. She knew they meant Lanie. They probably needed to know about her friends and connections and such, so releasing Castle's hand, she started off behind the other woman, tired but eager.

It was going to be a difficult road from here on out. She would never be the same after this; none of them would. But if there was one coherent thought in her mind, one thing she knew for certain…

…It was that whoever had done this was going to pay.

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><p><em>Put the gun <em>down_. I'm sorry. But I legitimately feel like this is who's going to be...um...terminated...in the season finale._

_Tell me what you think! I'm not even sure if I'm going to continue this. _**What do you guys think I should do with it? Is there interest?**


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